Simplify the following expression: $n = \dfrac{y^2 - 2y - 48}{y - 8} $
First factor the polynomial in the numerator. $ y^2 - 2y - 48 = (y - 8)(y + 6) $ So we can rewrite the expression as: $n = \dfrac{(y - 8)(y + 6)}{y - 8} $ We can divide the numerator and denominator by $(y - 8)$ on condition that $y \neq 8$ Therefore $n = y + 6; y \neq 8$